NME
THE CURE
The Cure, formed in 1976 and fronted by Robert Smith, are an English rock band largely known for developing the gothic rock genre, thanks to their dark, tormented lyrics and sound.
Beginning life as Easy Cure, the band soon dropped the ‘easy’ and were signed to Chris Parry’s Fiction label in 1978. But by 1982, even after moderate commercial success, fed up of the gloomy reputation the band were getting and after several volatile tours resulted in members leaving, Smith focused on writing more upbeat melodies- the result being 1982’s Let’s Go To Bed and future singles, Love Cats and Friday I’m In Love. By this time, The Cure were enjoying increasing commercial success and in 1984, The Top became a UK top 10 hit and bought them US success when it broke in to the Billboard Top 200.
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Following more band fall outs and line up changes, The Cure returned to their gothic roots with 1989’s Disintegration, which debuted at No.3 and became their biggest chart hit to that point. Following a law suit which was found in favour of singer Smith, the band released album The Wish in 1993 which reached No.1 in the UK and No.2 in the US. Since they formed, the band has been recognised as icons in the world of music, recently receiving NME’s 2009 Godlike Genius Award. (SM)
Original members included Robert Smith (vocals, songwriting), born April 21, 1959, in England; Laurence Tolhurst (keyboards), and Michael Dempsey (bass). Other members include Simon Gallup (drums, bass), Porl Thompson (keyboards, guitar), Boris Williams (drums), and Roger O'Donnell (keyboards).
Band formed, 1976, in Crawley, Sussex, England. Signed with Fiction Records, 1978, recorded first album in Great Britain, 1978. Released first album in America, Boys Don't Cry, 1980; toured America in 1987 and 1989.
Addresses: Record company—Elektra Records, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019.
Albums:
Three Imaginary Boys, Fiction, Rhino, 1979.
Seventeen Seconds, Fiction Records (UK), Elektra Records (U.S. 1988 release)
Rhino Records (2006 reissue), 1980.
Faith, Fiction (UK), A&M (U.S. original release), Elektra (1986 reissue), Rhino (2006 reissue), 1981.
Pornography, Fiction (UK), A&M (U.S. original release), Elektra (1986 reissue), Rhino (2006 reissue) 1982.
The Top, Fiction (UK), Sire (U.S. original release), Rhino (2006 reissue), 1984.
The Head on the Door, Fiction (UK), Elektra (U.S. original release), Rhino (2006 reissue), 1985.
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Fiction (UK), Elektra (U.S. original release), Rhino (2006 reissue), 1987.
Disintegration, Fiction (UK), Elektra (U.S. original release), Rhino (2010 reissue), 1989.
Wish, Fiction (UK), Elektra (U.S.), 1992.
Wild Mood Swings, Fiction (UK), Elektra (U.S.), 1996.
Bloodflowers, Fiction (UK), Elektra (U.S.), 2000.
The Cure, I AM, Geffen, 2004.
4:13 Dream, I AM, Geffen, 2008.
Source: Anne Jannette Johnson
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Muse
Muse started out as a band under a number of names including Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty, and Rocket Baby Dolls. After winning a battle of the bands type competition, it changed its name to Muse and started playing gigs in London and Manchester.
In 1998, Muse signed a deal with America’s Maverick Records. This opened the doors to other deals in Europe and Australia but in the age of indie music, Muse was keen to maintain creative control.
To support the release of its first album, Showbiz, the band toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and the festival circuit in Europe.
By now, Muse gained a reputation for its energetic live performances and fusion of progressive and alternative rock. Matthew Bellamy’s style has also become a trademark for the band as he uses falsetto vocals and pitch-shift guitar effects. NME Magazine described Muse’s style as “every guitar here sounds like it’s from the future, every flourish and movement scored and orchestrated with celestial vision.”
Its second album Origin of Symmetrywas well-received by critics but Maverick Records wanted to make some changes with the songs due to their reservations over lead singer, Bellamy’s vocal style. The band refused and jumped ship to the loving arms of Warner. By 2006, the album was rated in Q Magazine’s fan poll of the 100 greatest albums ever.
Stockholm Syndrome was released as a download only single to give fans a taste of what was to come on the next album. It proved to be one of the most popular download singles ever. Absolution, Muse’s third album, debuted at #1 in the UK charts and yielded a top ten hit Time is Running Out.
In 2004, the band started picking up awards for “Best Alternative Act” and “Best Live Act” and headlined the Glastonbury Festival. In 2006, Muse released its fourth album entitled Black Holes and Revelations. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize but narrowly missed out to the Arctic Monkeys. The most notable single from the album was Supermassive Black Hole which ended up being featured on the video game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
By 2008, Muse was the headline act for the V Festival and members Bellamy, Dominic Howard (drums) and Christopher Wolstenholme (bass) received Honorary Doctorates of Arts from the University of Plymouth.
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Muse released Resistance in 2009. It was the first album that proudly claimed a self-production. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries and reached #3 in the US.
The song United States of Eurasia from its 2009 release was available for download but only after it was unlocked in a clever worldwide treasure hunt, consisting of USB keys with song data hidden in seven major cities.
Now a regular headliner for festivals and an arena sell-out, Muse successfully capitalised on the indie movement by not backing down to record label management whims and integrating new technology in not only its musical style but also in its promotion.
Juanita Appleby
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Buzzcocks
For over thirty years the Buzzcocks have been a figurehead of the English punk movement. In all these years the Buzzcocks never made concessions to freaks of fashion or dominant trends. Instead, they remained loyal to their own sound: beautiful songs drenched in punk energy, combining raw guitar riffs with intelligent lyrics.
Buzzcocks was formed in Manchester in the mid-seventies. Guitarist and vocalist Pete Shelley and vocalist Howard Devoto started their first musical project in 1975, inspired by electronic music, Brian Eno and American proto-punk groups like The Stooges. When Shelley and Devoto read an NME review of the first Sex Pistols live performance, the Buzzcocks as we now know them were born. In the spring of 1976 Shelley and Devoto organised two concerts of the Sex Pistols in Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall. The second gig was supported by the Buzzcocks, by now complete with drummer John Maher and bass guitarist Steve Diggle.
Soon the Buzzcocks themselves became one of the most popular punk bands. In late 1976 they issued their debut EP ‘Spiral Scratch’ on their own label ‘New Hormones’. This was a milestone in the punk movement. The EP sounded raw, energetic, repetitive and minimalist and became a guideline for the punk sound. Establishing your own label to issue a record was later often repeated, at the summit of the do-it-yourself attitude of the punk era.
After these first eventful months Devoto left the band to form Magazine. Pete Shelley took over the vocals and Diggle switched from bass to guitar. With Steve Garvay as bass guitarist they signed with United Artists Records in 1977. The first single to be issued on this label was ‘Orgasm Addict’, a song which is still brash today, but caused a real stir in England of the 1970s. The BBC banning the single didn’t damage the sales figures whatsoever. The following albums ‘Another Music In A Different Kitchen’ and ‘Love Bites’ stormed the charts and the Buzzcocks toured all over Europe and America. They issued a third album ‘A Different Kind Of Tension’, before the group split up in 1981. Since 1989 the Buzzcocks have been reunited. The current line-up includes Shelley, Diggle, bass guitarist Chris Remington (who replaced long-standing band member Tony Barber in 2006) and drummer Danny Farrant. The Buzzcocks released their eighth studio album ‘Flat Pack Philosophy’ in 2006. In the 21st century the Buzzcocks are still relevant, not just as an innovative guitar band, but also as a continuing source of inspiration for the younger generation.
Leonor Jonker
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THE LIBERTINES
The Libertines, a band with an indie/punk sound, formed in London in 1997, with Carl Barat on vocals and lead guitar and Pete Doherty on vocals and rhythm guitar. Also featured were John Hassall (bass) and Gary Powell (drums). Barat and Doherty met at Brunel University in Uxbridge, they later hooked up with John Hassall and briefly, Razorlight frontman, Johnny Borrell.
Their best 8 tracks at the time, formed their first recording: ‘’Legs XI’’, later, a popular bootleg. Gary Powell was later recruited and, in 2001, the band signed to Rough Trade records.
First single, ‘’What a Waster’’ / ‘’I Get Along’’ reached No.37 in June 2002, despite limited airplay due to the record’s colourful language. The band were featured on the front cover of NME, which signalled the notable love affair between the paper and The Libertines.
The debut album:‘’Up the Bracket’’was subsequently released, reaching No. 35, however during this recording and touring, Doherty’s drug use worsened, and the relationships within the band suffered.
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Doherty went on to play guerrilla gigs that Barat did not attend - it culminated in Barat refusing to let Doherty into the band until he got his life in order.
While The Libertines toured in Japan, Doherty played with band, Babyshambles, things spiralled out of control, with Doherty burgling Barat’s flat, getting arrested, and spending 6 months in prison.
However, the pair’s fractious relationship was restored, resulting in 3 sold out London Forum gigs in December 2003 and 3 sold out London Brixton Academy shows in March 2004.
With their trademark love/hate behaviour, Barat and Doherty’s friendship deteriorated badly during the recording of self-titled 2nd album, with security guards employed to curb the pair’s in-studio fighting.
This was the beginning of the end of the band - Barat refused to allow Doherty to work with The Libertines until he had kicked his drug habit. Barat eventually broke the band up.
However, they were still successfully releasing material – ‘’Can’t Stand Me Now’’ hit No.2 and ‘’The Libertines’’ shot to the top in the album charts.
Their final show was in Paris in December 2004 (without Doherty), but the band have reunited since several times, for one-off occasions.
Since then however, Carl and Pete have resoluved their differences and has seen them preparing for a farewell performance at the Reading and Leeds festivals in August 2010.
Albums:
Wendy Gabriel
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Starsailor
Starsailor are an English rock band who formed in Wigan in 2000. They have had a number of Top 10 hits and 4 charting albums. The band consisted of singer James Walsh, bassist James Stelfox, drummer Ben Byrne and guitarist Barry Westhead. Walsh’s singing style was influenced by Jeff Buckley and his 1994 album 'Grace'.
The band received a glowing review from an NME journalist at a gig in 2000 and their performance at Glastonbury in 2000 led to a bidding war amongst record companies before the band signed for EMI in 2000. Their first single, 'Fever' was released in 2001 and featured on their debut album, 'Love Is Here' which went to No. 2 in the UK chart. In March 2001 the band embarked on a sellout UK tour. Their second single, 'Good Souls' was released in April and featured a cover of Van Morrison’s, “The Way Young Lovers Do” as a B-Side. Their third single from the album was 'Alcoholic' which reached No. 10 and their fourth single 'Lullaby' made No.36.
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For their second album, 'Silence is Easy' they teamed up with Phil Spector but things proved difficult with him and he only produced 2 of the tracks on the album. The title track from the album was the bands highest ever single placing reaching No.9 in the UK. The album had limited success and dropped out of the Top 40 quite quickly. In autumn 2003 the band commence a full UK tour culminating at London’s Brixton Academy.
They released their third album, 'On the Outside' in 2005 which was claimed to be a return to form and charted at No. 13 in the UK. The album yielded 3 singles, 'In the Crossfire', 'This Time' and 'Keep Us Together'.
Their fourth album, 'All the Plans' was released in March 2009 and charted at No. 26.
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Gene
Gene was a British indie/rock quartet formed in 1993 in London. They were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew somewhat superficial comparisons to The Smiths, if only because of their slightly Morrissey-esque lead singer. Despite this comparison, there is a lot more to Gene’s music than met the eyes of their critics. Their music takes influence from punk-rockers The Jam, blues riffs from the Small Faces, all mixed in with the soulful sound of motown.
The roots of Gene lay in a band called Spin, which featured guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James. Despite Spin’s split, Mason and James continued playing together, recruiting bassist Kevin Miles. The trio eventually met vocalist Martin Rossiter, and they formed Gene in 1993. Soon after forming, the quartet began to write songs, and had performed a number of shows by the end of the year. They were later signed to Costermonger, a label set up by two journalists, through which they released their debut single, ‘For The Dead’ in 1994.
After their next single ‘Be My Light, Be My Guide’ reached number one in the indie charts, the band signed to Polydor. In 1995, following this, they were named Best New Act at NME’s Brat Awards.
Their debut album, ‘Olympian’ was released in 1995. It received mixed reviews, and although it entered into the Top Ten – the band were soon overshadowed by upcoming acts such as Blur and Oasis.
Early in 1996, ‘To See the Lights’, a collection of B-sides and BBC sessions, was released in England. A new single, ‘Fighting Fit’ was shortly released as a teaser from their new album, and entered into the top ten. However, the album that followed ‘Drawn to the Deep End’ did not follow in the single’s success.
By 2000, the band was without a label. They founded, and issued the live set ‘Rising for Sunset: Live at the Troubadour’, but this went almost unnoticed among the indie scene. However, in mid-summer 2002, Gene emerged with ‘Libertine’, their strongest material since Olympian. A tour followed, but the band went their separate ways in 2003.
Carly Page
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